Power-driven colter



F. D. ADAMY POWER DRIVEN COLTER Filed Dec. 15, 1923 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 attoumq F. D; ADAMY POWER DRIVEN COLTER Filed Dec. 15, 1935 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 F. D. ADAMY POWER DRIVEN GOLTER 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Dec. 15, 1923 gnmmtoz Fffi. fldazizy 1,520,741 F. p. ADAMY POWER DRI VEN COLTER Filed Dec. 15', 1923 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Patented Dec. 39, 1924.

UNITED STATES FRANK D. AIDAMY, OF BELLWOOD, NEBRASKA.

POWER-DRIVEN OOLTEB.

Application filed December 15, 1923. Serial No. 680,915.

To all whom it may concern.

Be it known that I, FRANK D. ADAMY, citizen of the United States, residing at Bellwood, in the county of Butler and State of Nebraska, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Power-Driven Colters, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to wheeled plows and has particular reference to an improved driven colter for plows of this kind.

The primary object of this invention is to provide a driven colter attachment for wheeled plows, by means of which the action of the colter is made positive and extremely effective in a simple manner.

Another object of the invention is to provide a wheeled plow with simple and durable means for effectively and positively rotating the colters operating in advance of the plow share.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a driven colter mechanism for wheeled plows which may be cheaply and easily manufactured and installed, and which will effectively operate for a long continued period of time without the requirement of repeated attention for adjustments, repair or the like.

Other objects will appear as the nature of the invention is better understood, and the same consists in the novel form, combination and arrangement of parts hereinafter more fully described, shown in the accompanying drawings and claimed.

In the drawings, wherein like reference characters indicate corresponding parts throughout the several views:

Figure 1 is a top plan View of a plow equipped with a driven colter mechanism constructed in accordance with the present invention.

Figure 2 is a side elevational view of the device shown in Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a fragmentary transverse sectional View taken through the driving wheel of the plow and associated parts for revealing details of construction.

Figure 4 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view, taken substantially upon the line H of Figure 3.

Figure 5 is an enlarged fragmentary side elevational view partly in section, showing one of the colters and its attached yoke and verti al drive Sh ft,

Figure 6 is an enlarged rear elevational view of the device shown in Figure 5.

Figure 7 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view, taken substantially upon the line 77 of Figure 8.

Figure 8 is a transverse sectional view, taken substantially upon the line 88 of Figure 6, and

Figure 9 is a fragmentary perspective view showing the outer end portion of the drive shaft, which communicates rotation from one of the supporting wheels to the gearing for the colter.

Referring more in detail to the drawings, the invention is shown as applied to a conventional form of wheeled plow comprising a frame 5 that is supported at its forward end by staggered land and furrow engaging wheels 6 and 7 respectively, and its rear end by means of a furrow engaging wheel 8, said frame 5 having the usual plows including the beams 9 and 10, arranged therebeneath and attached thereto, as is usual in the art. Specifically, the forward ends of the beams 9 and 10 are suitably connected to the forward end of the frame as indicated at 11 in Figure 2, and upon the rear ends of said beams are fixed the usual plow shares 12 and 13 respectively, that are arranged in side by side relation with one of the same slightly in advance of the other as shown in Figure 1. The forward ends of the beams 9 and 10, are provided with means generally in dicated at 14 for facilitating coupling of the plows to a tractor or to draft animals, whereby the plow may be drawn over the field. It is to be understood that the usual mechanism (not shown) will be provided for raising and lowering the plows to render them operative or inoperative at w1ll, or to regulate the depth at which the same works.

In conventional plow constructions of the above kind, the wheels 6 and 7 are usually mounted upon the outturned horizontal lower ends of crank shaped axles that are suitably rigidly fastened to the sides of the frame 5, and in accordance with the present invention, a special axle of general crank form is substituted for one of the wheels. This special axle is shown as supplied for the land wheel 6, and consists of an integral member of substantially crank form, the inwardly extending upper horizontal portion 15 of which extends across the sides of the 7 chain 37.

frame 5, and is secured upon the latter by suitable clamp plates 16 or the like that are bolted to'said frame. This special axle further includes an intermediate vertical portion 17 that depends at one side of the frame, and an outwardly directed lower horizontal portion 18 that is of tubular movement of the collar 19 and the wheel 6' longitudinally of the tubular portion 18 when the wheel is properly positioned on the latter.

Extending thru the tubular portion 18 of the axle is a drive shaft 21 that has an elongated head 22 at its outer end, the ends of which seat within opposed notches 23 provided in the outer end of the hub of the wheel 6, whereby rotation of the wheel 5 will be imparted to the axle 21. The hub of the wheel 6 is provided with a dust cap 24; for preventing entrance of dust between the hub and the axle portion 18 or between said axle portion 18 and the drive shaft 21. As shown clearly in Figure 3, the drive shaft 21 projects inwardly beyond the inner end of the tubular axle portion 18, and has a sprocket wheel 25 secured upon the extreme inner end thereof, a thrust collar 26 being disposed upon the axle 21 between the 5 sprocket wheel 25 and the inner end of the axle portion 18 for taking up end play in the latter and maintaining the head 22 thereof in the notches 23 of the hub.

Rotatably disposed upon the outer end of the upper horizontal portion 15 of the special axle and confined between a pair of thrust collars 27 secured on the latter are three rigidly connected sprocket wheels 28, 29 and 30, the outer sprocket wheel 28 being directly above the sprocket wheel 25 and operatively connected to the latter by means of an endless sprocket chain 31, as shown in Figures 1 and 2.

Jou'rnalled upon the frame 5 are a pair of transverse shafts 32 and. 33, upon the outer ends of which adjacent the supporting wheel 6 are secured the sprocket wheels 34 and 35 respectively. The sprocket wheel 34 is in alignment with the sprocket 30 and operati've'ly connected to the latter, by means of endless sprocket chain 36, while the sprocket wheel 35 is in line with the sprocket wheel 29 and operatively connected to the latter by means of an endless sprocket 7 Depending from each of the shafts 32 and 33 in advance of the plow shares 12 and 13 are vertical extensible shafts, each of which embodies an intermediate section composed of telescopically associated parts 38. and. 39

that are of polygonal cross section, a lower section 40 that is connected with the intermediate section by means of a universal joint 41, and an upper section journalled in the bearing 42 ofa yoke l3, that is freely hung by bearings la upon its ends from the adjacent shafts 32 or 33, said upper shaft section being coupled to the intermediate shaft section by means of a universal joint 45. Each of the shafts 32 and 33 carries a bevelled gear 4l6' that is in mesh with a bevelled gear 47 secured upon the upper section of the adjacent vertical depending and extensible shaft referred to above- As shown more clearly in Figures 5 to 8 inclusive, the lower shaft section lf) of each depending vertical extensible shaft has a bevelled gear 1-8 fixed upon the lower end thereof in mesh with another bevelled gear 19, that is secured upon the adjacent end of a polygonal drive shaft that extends through and fits within a hub 51 of a colter disc or disc colter 52, the bore of which hub 51 is also of polygonal form, so as to insure transmission of rotation of the gear 49 through the shaft 50 and hub 51 to the disc colter 52. An angular shaft hanger 53 is provided with'bearings disposed at right angles to each other, and through one of which the shaft section 40 extends, the other bearing of said hanger 53 having the adjacent end of the colter hub 51 journalled therein as shown in Figure 7. The gears 18 and 49 are enclosed by means of a suitable casing 54: that is suspended from the shafts 40 and 50 and that will effectively prevent weeds or the like from getting in between and clogging the gears mentioned.

The other end of the hub 51 ofeach disc colter is mounted in a bearing or boxing 55, and this boxing or bearing 55 is held in one end of a yoke 56, the other end of which embraces the horizontal bearingof the hanger 53 in which the remaining end ofthe hub 51 is journalled. One yoke 56 is provided for each colter and each yoke has a rigid forwardly extending arm- 57 that has universal connection as generally indicated at 58 in Figure 1, with the plow beams 9 and 10. In this manner, rearward movement of the colters is prevented, while their lateral and vertical movement is permitted so that they may be extremely efii cient in operation, and may be adjusted to the required depth or raised to an inopera tive position in the presence of the sliding relation of the parts 38 and 3-9 of the in termediate sections of the vertical depend ing shafts that are geared with the shafts 32 and 33. In order to hold the shafts 50 within the hub 51 of the colter disc 50 between the nuts 58 and the adjacent end edges of the bearings 55 and the hubs 51 for excluding dust and permitting free rotation of the parts relative to the bearings of the hangers 53 and the bearing boxes 55.

In operation, the plow is drawn forwardly in the usual manner, so as to cause rotation of the land wheel 6 from which the rotation is transmitted to the colter discs 52 thru the gearing described, thus causing positive actuation or rotation of said colter disc for effectively cutting the stalks of weeds and other trash, as well as scoring the surface soil to permit the plow shares 12 and 13 to effectively operate in turning the furrow. It will thus be seen that I have provided a simple and durable as well as efficient means for mechanically rotating or driving colter discs, so as to render the operation of wheeled plows more positive and reliable. Minor changes may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as claimed, such as driving the colters from any desired one of the supporting wheels 6, 7 and 8.

From the foregoing description, it is believed that the construction and operation, as well as the advantages of the present invention will be readily understood and apreciate'd by those skilled in the art.

Vihat I claim as new is:

1. In combination with a plow embodying a frame provided with supporting wheels and wherein plow shares are provided with beams attached to the frame to be drawn thereby, a disc colter mounted in advance of each of said plow shares, means operatively connecting said disc colter with one of the frame supporting wheels for causing positive rotation of the colter upon forward travelling movement of the plow, said one supporting wheel having a crank axle embodying an outwardly directed lower horizontal portion of tubular form, a drive shaft journalled in the tubular portion of the axle and having its outer end keyed to the outer end of the hub of said one supporting wheel to form part of the operative connection between said one wheel and the colters, said operative connection comprising gearing between the inner end of said drive shaft and the colters.

2. In combination with a plow embodying a frame provided with supporting wheels and wherein plow shares are provided with beams attached to the frame to be drawn thereby, a disc colter mounted in advance of each of said plow shares, and means operatively connecting said disc colter with one of the frame supporting wheels for causing positive rotation of the colter upon for ward travelling movement of the plow, the driving connections between said one supporting wheel and the colters including transverse shafts journalled. upon the frame and having extensible vertical shafts suspended therefrom and rotatably geared thereto.

3. In combination with a plow embodying a frame provided with supporting wheels and wherein plow shares are provided with beams attached to the frame to be drawn thereby, a disc colter mounted in advance of each of said plow shares, means operatively connecting said disk colter with one of the frame supporting wheels for causing positive rotation of the colter upon forward travelling movement of the plow, the driving connections between said one supporting wheel and the colters including transverse shafts journaled upon the frame and having extensible vertical shafts suspended therefrom and rotatably geared thereto, said extensible shaft comprising universally connected sections, and means operatively connected to the lower ends of said extensible vertical shaft for holding the colters against rearward swinging movement and for permitting lateral swinging movement of the extensible shaft section and the colters.

4. In combination with a plow embodying a frame provided with supporting wheels and wherein plow shares are provided with beams attached to the frame to be drawn thereby, a disc colter mounted in advance of each of said plow shares, means operatively connecting said disc colter with one of the frame supporting wheels for causing positive rotation of the colter upon forward travelling movement of the plow, the driving connections between said one supporting wheel and the colters including transverse shafts journalled upon the frame and having extensible vertical shafts suspended therefrom and rotatably geared thereto, said extensible shaft comprising universally connected sections, means operatively connected to the lower ends of said extensible vertical shaft for holding the colters against rearward swinging movement and for permitting lateral swinging movement of the extensible shaft section and the colters, said last named means being mounted on the plow frame forwardly of said transverse shaft for vertical movement to permit shortening or lengthening of the extensible shaft whereby the colters may be raised and lowered.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature.

FRANK D. ADAMY. 

